David Murdock

The Greek philosopher Plato relates a story about his teacher Socrates — well, he relates lots of stories about Socrates — but the particular one about which I’m thinking involves the Oracle at Delphi telling Socrates that he is the wisest person in Athens.

The best thing about holidays are the traditions, but what’s peculiar about traditions is how sorta … arbitrary they are.

Okay, right off the bat, I really should explain that title. My journal has several parts: There’s the part where I write, there’s the part where I hand-draw maps, there’s the part where I list various things and there’s the calendar.

There are three main ways of hoarding words in our treasuries — reading, listening and just flat-out making them up.

We’re a little way from the “bleak midwinter,” but this time of year — the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas — always seems “bleak” to me.

“Miracle on 34th Street” astounds me every time I watch it. It’s not simply a great Christmas movie; it’s a great movie.

So, when I went to sleep last night, I had no worries at all … about this week’s column at least. I have had a pretty good idea for it for a couple of days; what I haven’t had is the time to sit down and write it. So, I wasn’t worried about the actual writing. My plan was to wake up this morning, have a “coupla cuppas,” follow my usual morning routine and write.

On the last day of 2024, I was sitting at the desk in my home office. It was a little chilly in the house, so I was wearing one of my favorite garments: a medium-weight flannel hoodie that I picked up at Walmart nearly 20 years ago.

If it’s cold enough to haul out the old “new” parka I got before the Blizzard of '93, it’s really cold.

As one author stated, "The Slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed.”